TLDR
- Justin Sun’s team reportedly complained to Bullish (CoinDesk’s owners) about an article describing him eating a $6.2 million banana artwork, demanding its removal
- The article in question can no longer be found on CoinDesk but remains available on Yahoo News
- CoinDesk editorial staff opposed the removal and requested the article be restored with an editor’s note
- Matt Murray, chair of CoinDesk’s editorial committee, reportedly resigned on December 16
- Tron is noted as a major sponsor of CoinDesk’s conference series, raising potential conflict of interest concerns
A recent report by Fortune has revealed internal tensions at cryptocurrency news outlet CoinDesk following the removal of an article about Tron founder Justin Sun’s consumption of a $6.2 million banana artwork.
The controversy began with a late November article titled “I Watched Justin Sun Eat the World’s Most Expensive Banana. I Don’t Get It.” The piece covered Sun’s performance art event in Hong Kong, where he ate Maurizio Cattelan’s famous banana artwork, valued at $6.2 million.
According to sources cited in the Fortune report published December 18, Sun’s team expressed disapproval of the article’s tone to Bullish, the crypto exchange firm that acquired CoinDesk for $75 million in 2023. Following this complaint, Bullish reportedly demanded the article’s removal from CoinDesk’s website.
The removal sparked immediate pushback from CoinDesk’s editorial staff. During a meeting last week, the editorial team voiced their opposition to the decision and requested the article be restored with an accompanying editor’s note explaining the situation.
As of December 19, 2024, the article remains unavailable on CoinDesk’s website. However, readers can still access the piece through Yahoo News, where it was last updated on December 2.
The situation has already led to personnel changes within CoinDesk’s leadership. Matt Murray, who served as chair of CoinDesk’s editorial committee, reportedly resigned on December 16. Murray, who previously held the position of Editor-in-Chief at The Wall Street Journal, has declined to comment on his departure.
The controversy has highlighted potential conflicts of interest within crypto media. The removed article had noted that Sun’s legal team had previously threatened other news outlets with legal action, particularly regarding reports about alleged illicit activities involving the Tron blockchain.
Adding another layer to the situation is the business relationship between the parties involved. Tron, Sun’s blockchain platform, serves as a major sponsor of Consensus, CoinDesk’s conference series, creating potential concerns about editorial independence.
Multiple attempts by Fortune to obtain comments from key figures have been unsuccessful. Bullish CEO Tom Farley, CoinDesk’s editor-in-chief Kevin Reynolds, and Justin Sun’s representatives have not responded to requests for comment on the situation.
The article’s removal comes at a sensitive time for CoinDesk, which was acquired by Bullish from Digital Currency Group in November 2023. The acquisition had already raised questions about the outlet’s ability to maintain editorial independence under its new ownership.
The original article covered not only Sun’s banana-eating performance but also provided context about his ongoing legal challenges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These regulatory issues remain a separate but related concern in the broader narrative surrounding Sun’s activities.
The timing of the article’s removal and Murray’s resignation has drawn attention from media observers, who note the challenges of maintaining editorial independence in specialized media outlets where business relationships often interconnect with coverage subjects.
Further details about the internal decision-making process that led to the article’s removal remain unclear. The Fortune report suggests that the incident has created tension between CoinDesk’s editorial team and its new owners at Bullish.
Questions about transparency and editorial practices continue to surround the situation. The availability of the article on Yahoo News while it remains absent from CoinDesk’s own platform has raised additional questions about content management and editorial policies.
The removal of the article represents one of the first public tests of CoinDesk’s editorial independence under its new ownership structure with Bullish. The outcome of this situation may influence how similar editorial decisions are handled in the future.
